


Bear Mountain

by SmokeandBones



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Did I mention angst, Honorary Duck Family Member Lena (Disney: Ducktales), Protective Scrooge McDuck, angst angst angst, comic book villain, post shadow war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:55:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27136241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmokeandBones/pseuds/SmokeandBones
Summary: Scrooge and Lena go on an adventure.
Relationships: Lena (Disney: DuckTales) & Scrooge McDuck
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Bear Mountain

**Author's Note:**

> I once again wrote this when I thought Lena would be living at the manor. Lena also has the same history with Magica but was a real child the whole time.
> 
> Just felt like writing a lot of angst for the sake of angst.
> 
> I also remember writing this at 3 in the morning.

Scrooge decided after everything that happened once he and his family defeated Magica, there would be no time wasted in diving into more wonderous adventures. The next weeks worth of his time would be spent out of the mansion. This was his chance to reconnect with his nephews. He had taken Huey first. Then Dewey. Webby’s choice was to search for smaller sword horses. Apparently they were less likely to try and kill you. She was happy with either outcome. Louie didn't seem as enthusiastic as the other children, so he didn't mind when Scrooge invited Lena to his next destination: the abandoned castle on Bear Mountain.

* * *

Once Launchpad had crashed the Sunchaser directly in front of the entrance to the castle, Scrooge and Lena watched the troubled pilot hose down the plane before they entered the monument.

Passing old paintings with eyes that seemed to follow them, numerous doorways, hall after hall, it became clear Scrooge was looking for something. “The Totem of the Living Dead. Said to be the most ancient relic that allows the possessor to bring anything back to life. I hid the totem in this very fortress years ago and decided to leave it be, mostly common sense. Not quite sure why anybody would want to have a rotting zombie in their home, but figure it best to keep it in the other bin. Never know when it might be useful.”

Lena remembered the time her and Webby snuck into said bin. "Did it even cross your mind that bringing a rebellious teen to a dark and scary place would just be another cliche?"

"Obviously."

"You get me", said Lena as she followed him past a sculpture of a sophisticated looking duck.  


* * *

After a while, Lena's thoughts turned to what had been bothering her ever since that night at McDuck Manor. The night her aunt regained her body after she used Lena to obtain the dime. She remembered how Scrooge put himself between Magica's spell that was meant for her. "Did you mean what you said?", asked Lena.

"Hmm?"

"You said if I helped you, I'd be part of your family. Did you mean it?"

Scrooge stopped and stared at her. His expression softened as he saw a hopeful look in her eyes. This was obviously important to her. "Of course I did."

"Why?"

"The same reason you helped Webbigail by giving De Spell a distraction. The same reason the boys forgave a ridiculous old man like me-"

"The same reason you never stopped looking for Della?"

Scrooge was taken back. "How do you-"

"Webby and the boys told me what happened on the Sunchaser and everything that happened on Donald’s houseboat", she said, smiling. "I've never been part of a family that cares so much."

Scrooge laid an affectionate hand on her shoulder. "I promised, Lena and I meant it."

Before another word could be spoken, there was a flash of lightning and an incredibly strong gust of wind that caused the lights to flicker. It was pitch black. The moment he heard Lena scream, Scrooge reached out for her. "Lena?!". It was only a matter of time until he too felt a pair of hands grab him but managed to free himself from the tough grip. Raising his cane, Scrooge began striking wildly around him as he made his way through the dark. Once in a while, he'd stop in his tracks to listen for any sign that someone else might be near. He grabbed a match he had in his pocket and scraped it against the wall causing a flame to ignite. It didn't take long until he came upon a staircase going downward. He descended.

Once he got to the last steps into what appeared to be a dungeon is when he could hear voices coming from one of the many rooms.

" _Let go_!", yelled a familiar voice.

Scrooge ran as fast as he could to find her. He needed to find her. Every terrible thought came to mind about what Lena might be going through. She had followed him blindly on their adventure and he let her slip away.

“ _You're hurting me_!"

That was all the motivation that Scrooge needed to keep going. Finally he made it to the one room in the dungeon that was barely lit. The first thing he saw was a cloaked man that was holding Lena by the front of her sweater as he pinned her against the wall.

The man chuckled once he caught sight of the angry billionaire slowly approaching with his cane raised. The stranger positioned himself so he remained between the older man and the teen. "Just needed the right bait to get you right where I want you, McDuck?", he said as he smiled greedily. He pulled a knife from his pocket and pointed it at Lena's neck.

Scrooge froze.

There was another gust of wind, the lights flickered and the man vanished.

Scrooge saw Lena sink down to the floor. He ran to her and gathered her in a protective embrace. When it came to the safety of any of his kids, it was wasn't very hard for Scrooge to let his guard down. Lena clutched the front of his coat as she looked over his shoulder and gasped. “Scrooge!”

Scrooge felt a white hot pain on the back of his head before falling to the ground from unconsciousness.

* * *

He would be back any minute now and the two ducks had little time until he returned to figure out a plan to escape.

The teen rolled her eyes as she listened to the old man muttering every curse he knew in the book while he did his best to try and loosen the ropes that restrained him. He stopped his struggling to slouch against the chair out of exhaustion. He grunted. "Don't you worry lass, I'll get us outta here in no time!", he exclaimed as he continued to struggle to no avail.

"We're going to die down here", murmured Lena, tired as well trying to loosen her bonds. She glanced around the dungeon with help from the candlelight that shone from the ceiling. "I thought you were Scrooge McDuck", she mocked. " _Tougher than the toughies and smarter than the smarties_."

He ignored her. “It’s no use! It appears these ropes are made from the same material I use to secure me number one dime. It's very rare to come by. Didn't think Somnambulo could get hold of it."

"Absolutely nothing can cut them?", asked Lena. If only she had her diamond dagger.

"Precisely", he replied.

"We're going to die down here", repeated Lena.

"No, we're no-", began an annoyed Scrooge.

Just as quickly as the door to the dungeon burst open, their captor slammed it shut. As he stepped into the light, it was clear from his black cloak and hat that he was one for theatrics. "McDuck", he said through grit teeth. "We meet again."

Lena winced; a cliche.

"Aye, can't say it's a pleasure", muttered Scrooge.

Somnambulo chuckled as he approached his foe and grabbed the front of his coat. "The pleasure will be all mine once I've had my most prized possession back in my hands. Now, tell me where you've hidden it!", he yelled, shaking his fist.

"I retrieved it square."

"Who’s this guy?", asked Lena.

Scrooge shrugged his shoulders. "Old acquaintance. Threatened to kill me after I nabbed  the totem right from under his thieving mug."

"You admit you stole it!", yelled Somnambulo. He roughly let go of Scrooge.

Scrooge ignored him and turned his attention back to Lena. "He wanted to raise an army of the dead for no reason other than to have mindless zombies follow his every word."

"It would’ve worked! Now that I've tracked it to this very location, I have faith you'll assist me by returning what's mine", said Somnambulo greedily.

"Are you daft? There's enough booby traps in this place to kill us before we even reach that cursed bobble", exclaimed Scrooge.

Somnambulo's dastardly smile widened as he turned his attention to Lena. “Who do we have here?”

Scrooge became tense. He was well aware of the fact how this man killed before and had the displeasure of having even witnessed it. Men, women...  children. "Leave her alone." Determination filled Scrooge as he continued to try and loosen the knots. He kept his eyes on the two of them but mostly on his niece.

"Bringing a child along on your  _thrilling_ adventures, McDuck? You have become less of the man I once knew", he said as he placed a finger under Lena's chin, forcing her to look at him.

Scrooge struggled harder than ever. "Don't touch her”, he said, his voice low and threatening.

“Come now, McDuck. Surely the price of an old relic couldn't possibly compare to this girl's life”, responded an unfazed Somnambulo.

"Alright. If I help you, then it'll mean one of us leaves with the most valuable treasure in the manor. The other will stay to rot for all eternity. Deal?", said a determined Scrooge, ignoring Lena's protests. Upon second glance, Lena recognized that look. It was the look Scrooge would get whenever he had a plan.

"Deal."

Once Somnambulo used his own diamond dagger to cut Scrooge free and escort him into the hall, Scrooge gave Lena a reassuring nod.

* * *

"How much farther, McDuck?", screeched Somnambulo, prodding Scrooge forward with his own cane. He didn't dare try anything.

"Not far", replied an agitated Scrooge.

There was a moment of silence as the two of them continued down the hall. Somnambulo cleared his throat. "Perhaps I should let you retrieve the artifact yourself while I return to the dungeon and keep that young girl company. I've been needing fresh blood for the potions I've been working on." If he wanted to get a rise out of Scrooge, it worked. Scrooge growled low in his throat. He turned around and lunged at Somnambulo, who managed to stop him by pointing the dagger directly at Scrooge's chest. This didn't faze Scrooge, who glared at his captor with a look of deepest hatred. "It appears even the great Scrooge McDuck needs a little  persuasion every now and then."

"See here, you do whatever you want with me. If I get myself killed by one of these confounded contraptions, I want your word that after you have the blasted thing, you'll let Lena go", demanded Scrooge. He knew he was wasting his breath.

The cloaked man crossed his heart.

"In which case, I know another way", said Scrooge as he opened the door closest to his right. "Bit of a shortcut. My tired old limbs aren't what they used to be."

Somnambulo scoffed as he leaned into the dark room. The moment he suspected this was a trap, something very cold and slimy wrapped around him. It pulled him into the darkness, down to what he thought was the floor but turned out to be slowly dragging him into the rising vat of quicksand. "McDuck!", he yelled, staring up at the man who once again got the upper hand.

"Better luck next time", mocked Scrooge as he picked up his cane and the dagger.

"You cheat! You promised me! To retrieve what was mine!"

Scrooge smirked as he grabbed the doorknob. "I did say one of us would leave with the most valuable treasure in the manor.  _You_ thought I meant the totem. _ I _ meant Lena." He tipped his hat in farewell and shut the door.

* * *

Lena stopped struggling the moment she heard somebody running on the other side of the door before it was swung open. Scrooge stood before her, a look of victory on his face. He approached the back of Lena's chair and began to cut away at the ropes.

"You-"

"Told you I was going to get us out of here? Indeed." He cut the last rope restraining his companion. Before he knew it, she tossed the ropes aside and flung herself at him. This wasn't the first time he'd ever been hugged as tightly as he was but this was the first time he was ever hugged by the teen.

"You came back for me?" She wasn’t used to all of this yet.

Scrooge's expression turned soft as he hugged her back. "Always.”

* * *

As the two left the room into the hall, Lena noticed something was missing. "Mr. McDuck-"

"Uncle Scrooge, Lena." He placed a hand on her shoulder.

She smiled. "Uncle Scrooge? Where's the totem?"

"Ahh, let this be one adventure where we don't take home the gold. Besides, I've got another in mind if you're up for it."

"Ducks don't back down." She loved having a family motto.


End file.
